Islamists in Timbuktu break door to ancient 'world's end' mosque

by ADAMA DIARRA,
August 08 2012, 08:33

ADAMA DIARRA

Islamists in Timbuktu break door to ancient 'world's end' mosque

AL-QAEDA-linked Islamists in Timbuktu broke down the door to a 15th-century mosque on Monday that locals believed had to stay shut until the end of the world, defying international calls to halt the destruction of holy sites in the Unesco-listed city.

In a third day of attacks on historic and religious landmarks that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has called "wanton destruction", the Islamists targeted the ancient Sidi Yahya mosque as they tried to erase traces of what they regard as un-Islamic idolatry.

"In legend, it is said that the main gate of Sidi Yahya mosque will not be opened until the last day (of the world)," Alpha Abdoulahi, the town imam, told Reuters by telephone.

Yet eight Islamist fighters had smashed down the door to the mosque early on Monday, saying they wanted to "destroy the mystery" of the ancient entrance, he said.

"They offered me 50000 CFA francs ($100) for repairs but I refused to take the money, saying that what they did is irreparable."

Islamists of the Ansar Dine group say the centuries-old shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam in Timbuktu are idolatrous. They have so far destroyed at least eight of 16 listed mausoleums in the city, together with a number of tombs.

Ansar Dine and well-armed allies - including an al-Qaeda splinter, the group Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) - have hijacked a separatist uprising by local Tuareg MNLA rebels and now control two-thirds of Mali's desert north, territory that includes the regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

The size of the area under their control is bigger than France, heightening fear that Mali will become a jihadist haven.

GOVERNMENT POWERLESS TO HALT ATTACKS

Sufi shrines have been attacked by hardline Salafists in Egypt and Libya in the past year. The attacks also recall the 2001 dynamiting by the Taliban of two sixth-century statues of Buddha carved into a cliff in Bamiyan in central Afghanistan.

Mali's government in the capital Bamako, about 1000km south, has condemned the attacks but is powerless to halt them after its army was routed by rebels in April. It is still struggling to bolster a return to civilian rule after a March 22 coup that emboldened the rebel uprising further north.

Unesco director-general Irina Bokova and former colonial power France appealed on Saturday for a halt to the attacks.

The UN body tries to protect places around the world it classifies as world heritage sites, arguing they are of special cultural or physical significance and should therefore be preserved for posterity.

Located on an old Saharan trading route that saw salt from the Arab north exchanged for gold and slaves from black Africa to the south, Timbuktu blossomed in the 16th century as an Islamic seat of learning, home to priests, scribes and jurists.

Mali had sought in recent years to create a desert tourism industry around Timbuktu. But even before April's rebellion, many tourists were being discouraged by a spate of kidnappings of westerners in the region claimed by groups linked to al-Qaeda.

AL-QAEDA-linked Islamists in Timbuktu broke down the door to a 15th-century mosque on Monday that locals believed had to stay shut until the end of the world, defying international calls to halt the destruction of holy sites in the Unesco-listed city.

In a third day of attacks on historic and religious landmarks that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation has called "wanton destruction", the Islamists targeted the ancient Sidi Yahya mosque as they tried to erase traces of what they regard as un-Islamic idolatry.

"In legend, it is said that the main gate of Sidi Yahya mosque will not be opened until the last day (of the world)," Alpha Abdoulahi, the town imam, told Reuters by telephone.

Yet eight Islamist fighters had smashed down the door to the mosque early on Monday, saying they wanted to "destroy the mystery" of the ancient entrance, he said.

"They offered me 50000 CFA francs ($100) for repairs but I refused to take the money, saying that what they did is irreparable."

Islamists of the Ansar Dine group say the centuries-old shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam in Timbuktu are idolatrous. They have so far destroyed at least eight of 16 listed mausoleums in the city, together with a number of tombs.

Ansar Dine and well-armed allies - including an al-Qaeda splinter, the group Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) - have hijacked a separatist uprising by local Tuareg MNLA rebels and now control two-thirds of Mali's desert north, territory that includes the regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

The size of the area under their control is bigger than France, heightening fear that Mali will become a jihadist haven.

GOVERNMENT POWERLESS TO HALT ATTACKS

Sufi shrines have been attacked by hardline Salafists in Egypt and Libya in the past year. The attacks also recall the 2001 dynamiting by the Taliban of two sixth-century statues of Buddha carved into a cliff in Bamiyan in central Afghanistan.

Mali's government in the capital Bamako, about 1000km south, has condemned the attacks but is powerless to halt them after its army was routed by rebels in April. It is still struggling to bolster a return to civilian rule after a March 22 coup that emboldened the rebel uprising further north.

Unesco director-general Irina Bokova and former colonial power France appealed on Saturday for a halt to the attacks.

The UN body tries to protect places around the world it classifies as world heritage sites, arguing they are of special cultural or physical significance and should therefore be preserved for posterity.

Located on an old Saharan trading route that saw salt from the Arab north exchanged for gold and slaves from black Africa to the south, Timbuktu blossomed in the 16th century as an Islamic seat of learning, home to priests, scribes and jurists.

Mali had sought in recent years to create a desert tourism industry around Timbuktu. But even before April's rebellion, many tourists were being discouraged by a spate of kidnappings of westerners in the region claimed by groups linked to al-Qaeda.

Network Sites

Tools & Services

News Updates

Times Media (Pty) Ltd disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, injury or expense however caused, arising from the use of or reliance upon, in any manner, the information provided through this service and does not warrant the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information provided.

My News

You can only set up or view personalised news headlines when you are logged in as a registered user. Thereafter you can choose the sectors of industry in which you are interested, and the latest articles from those sectors will display in this area of your console.

You can only set up or view your share watchlist when you are logged in as a registered user. Thereafter you can select a list of companies and enter your share details to monitor their performance.

My Clippings

You can only clip articles when you are logged in as a registered user. Thereafter you can click on the "Read later" icon at the top of an article to save it to this area of your console, where you can return to read it at any time.